Shloka 49
द्रोणेन केकय-चेदि-वीरवधः
Droṇa’s engagements with the Kekayas and Cedis
तत्र तत्र महेष्वासै: श्वसद्धिः शोणितोक्षितै: । हयैनगिश्न सम्भिन्नैर्नदद्धिश्चवारिकर्षणै:,तदनन्तर जहाँ-तहाँ हाँफते और खूनसे लथपथ हुए महाथधनुर्थर योद्धाओं, अर्जुनके शत्रुनाशक बाणोंद्वारा विदीर्ण हो चीत्कार करते हुए हाथियों और घोड़ों तथा युद्धमें विजयकी अभिलाषा लिये रोषावेशमें भरकर एक जगह कुपित खड़े हुए बहुतेरे वीर शत्रुओंके जमघटसे उस स्थानपर गर्मी-सी होने लगी
tatra tatra maheṣvāsaiḥ śvasadbhiḥ śoṇitokṣitaiḥ | hayainagiśna-sambhinnair nadadbhiś cārikarṣaṇaiḥ ||
तत्र तत्र महेष्वासैः श्वसद्भिः शोणितोक्षितैः। हयैर्नागैश्च सम्भिन्नैर्नदद्भिश्च वारिकर्षणैः॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethical reality of war: even when warriors pursue victory as a kṣatriya ideal, the battlefield becomes a scene of suffering—panting men, blood, and the cries of animals—reminding the listener that martial glory is inseparable from human and animal cost.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield during the Drona Parva: great archers are exhausted and blood-soaked; horses and elephants, pierced and torn by Arjuna’s enemy-destroying arrows, cry out; and many enraged enemy warriors gather in dense clusters, making the place feel as if it is burning with heat from the crush and fury.